What a busy running weekend it was! The weekend started off Friday evening at the "Lake Health Goodie Bag Party". Basically, a bunch of running friends putting all the 1/2 marathon goodie bags together. There were tons of boxes but soon Jeannie Rice took charge! The goodie bags were done in no time, and there was a lot of tasty food to eat. It was pretty neat seeing some behind the scenes race activity.
Training was kicked into high gear this week - and after the previous weekend's 30 miles Saturday and 1/2 distance Sunday my legs were heavy from the start. I simply dealt with it Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday and was pretty miserable. My legs weren't hurting at all, just felt like bricks. Feeling frustrated, on Friday I finally asked Ray for advice. He told me "Seriously, potatoes. Eat potatoes." Seriously?! I thought. Can that be it? That's all it takes? So I ate. And ate. And ate. Potatoes. I was hoping that it would work before my running weekend which would consist of 24 miles Saturday, 11 miles Sunday before the Concord 1/2 Marathon, and then running the 13.1 miles of the Lake Health 1/2 marathon. Friday when I came home the first thing I did was eat potatoes. It worked!!! How awesome is that! I had a good trail run Saturday - 24 miles at 4 hours and 4 minutes. I was completely pumped about potatoes (tee hee!) I was really hoping that my legs would still be ok for my 24 miles the following day, and most importantly for the last half Lake Health Distance Classic 1/2 marathon, put on by one of my Saturday running buds and fellow NERC board member Geoff Weber. Needless to say, I LOVE potatoes now - they are my best friend :) wink wink!!
LakeHealth 1/2 Marathon Distance Classic Race Report
3 a.m.
I woke up to get my first 11 miles of 24 for the day in before the 1/2 marathon started. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed, and I settled for doing the 11 miles on the treadmill, completely bummed about that. The plan was for my son and I (hubby was at work) to go to the start of the 1/2 so I could do my 11 miles and he could bike alongside me until it was time to drop him off for his volunteer duties at the race. I thought my son would be pleased that he could sleep a couple hours longer, but he was actually bummed about that! He woke up and saw me on the treadmill, said "HEY! What the heck!" I didn't need to tell him to look outside obviously, but he did say he was looking forward to the bike ride. Surprised the heck out of me! A 13 yr old looking forward to a 5:30 a.m. Sunday bike ride? Strange! Nothing much I could do about the weather though.
By the time we got to the 1/2's starting location the rain had stopped, and all was well! Well...almost. Poor Geoff had to deal with delaying the race, due to the fact that there was standing water in some low lying areas, and drainage systems just needed some time to catch up to make for a clear course (Colburn Rd was completely under water). I'm sure everyone understood - like I said earlier there's not really much you can do about the weather! And better for the runners to wait just a few minutes so they aren't miserable for the entire race! Good call Geoff! Not too soon after my son and I arrived we saw Jeanette and her boys and hung with them for a good while - 2 of her boys and my son were volunteering - her other son, Mr. speed demon himself was running the 5k! I saw many people here and there and was also trying to keep an eye out for my hubby, who was coming straight from 3rd shift to run the half! YIKES! I was also trying to keep an eye out for Geoff so I could hand over my son! We saw many people before the start: Jean, Guy, Jeannie, Nick, Diane, Ernie, Charlie, Niall, Mark (ultra guru who ran 30 miles the day before the race), Rick, and Eric - to name a few. I wish I would've had more time to chat with everyone as I haven't been on a a Saturday group run in awhile. I swear after Mohican I will be a regular again! I will have to be on roads alot for Northcoast 24 hr. training so it will be perfect!
Anyway, back to the race...
We all lined up at the start and we were off! As I was running I noticed something different. Hey my hubby was RIGHT THERE next to me for a long time! I tried to shake him but couldn't! WOW he started out fast! As we ran through the neighborhood we passed the 5k runners - and I really liked that. I was calling out to people I know, cheering them on and gave Nick a big ol' high five when I saw him. Seeing the 5k people run by was one of my favorite things about the whole race.
Hubby still there....
Whoa! My hubby lasted a long time at a good speed! I thought he might even pass me! ACK! Unfortunately he had a harder time with the hills, due to his knees. He still really hung in there though, and only finished ONE MINUTE behind me! WHOA!! I have to start to do some serious speed work!
Camelbak....
I ran with my camelbak fully loaded. This is something I would not usually do for a 1/2, but I did it so I could get used to it for Mo. I got many questions about it while I was running. How does it feel? Does the water slosh around? Do you like it? Does it bother you? Etc., etc. That being said it was nice just blowing through the waterstops, and having water whenever I wanted it. (Once again I had Smartwater in my pack) I may have to consider running marathons and 1/2's with my pack!
The spectators...
There were a few spectators along the race course, which I was pretty surprised about. Once family even set up their own water stop. How awesome is that! My favorite spectators were 2 little kids watching the race from their living room window. I waved to them and they waved to me, and it was the cutest thing ever!
Puke....
Once we hit the hills I spent the rest of the time running close to a group of 4 cross country runners. One of which was puking along the race and had a pacer of sorts. I didn't see her get water at any point, but I may have not been paying attention 100% as I was really trying to maintain a consistent pace. In the end, the runner finished about 7 seconds ahead of me and left on a stretcher. After we crossed the finish line I had not realized how ill she really felt. I shook her hand, congratulated her and told her how amazing she did, then walked away. I didn't hear that she left on a stretcher until yesterday's NERC board meeting. I feel so bad I didn't realize how she felt at the end of the race.
The other 3 girls maintained a pretty steady pace the whole race and seemed to feel fine. Once we hit the 11 mile mark I let them know that we had only 2 miles and it was all flat, hinting to them that they could pick up their pace a bit. We all seemed to kick it up a notch. After those hills, this stretch was a piece of cake!
The Finish...
The finish line was back at the plaza where there was ice cream and other goodies waiting for everyone. There were free massages as well! I stood in line for what would be only my 2nd massage of my life. When I got to the table the woman working recognized me! We had volunteered at Green Jewel together! Small world! I got settled and she started to try to get the knots out. Unfortunately she said she couldn't get them. She told me she was so sorry that she had to stop, and that she could work on just my one leg/hamstring for 20 minutes and still not get it. Of course I understood though - there was a pretty big line forming! It was good chatting with her for a bit though.
Awards....
The awards ceremony was held at Panini's which was really nice. They had food available for the runners to eat while the awards were being called out. We were all chatting away when my age group was called. I half paid attention as I didn't expect to win any kind of award. I was shocked (to put it mildly) when they called my name for 1st place!!!! WOO HOO! I soooo did not see that one coming! I was 8th female overall, and pretty pumped about it after all those weekend miles! This was a great Mo' confidence builder. Shortly after I got my award a downpour hit, and many people hit the road at that point.
In closing....
The LakeHealth Distance Classic was a great event and one I'm sure we'll attend every year. Geoff handled the enormous growth of the race very well, and handled the weather situation as best as anyone could. I don't see much about this race that people can complain about! Everything was top notch! This race is a keeper!
Impossible2Possible
Earlier this week Ray had an interview with CNNI's Backstory in Atlanta. The interview was where he announced his newest expedition, which will include 4 youth ambassadors application process to start IMMEDIATELY!)
The newest expedition will be held in October, and it will be in the Amazon! The education topic/resource for this expedition will be biodiversity, and the extraordinary act will be the construction of a school in the Amazon!
Stay tuned for more announcements, the youth team will most likely be announced in one month's time! As always, logisitics and funding are the hardest, so please take the time to donate to I2P at:
http://www.impossible2possible.com/?v=support
There will also be new I2P gear coming very soon, which will be similar to the shirts the youth ambassadors wore in Tunisia!
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